Day 8-Dingbouche to Lobuche

Another fantastic day, I could not sleep so was up very early and packed before the light was up, It had rained heavily again at night buy by day break it was clear and the mountains were putting on a show, I had read a book the night before about the flora and fauna in the region and it mentioned that snow leopards have been seen in the hills above where we were staying, Amazing and i kept my eyes on the distant peaks for any sights of life, Birds seen today were alpine chough very close with a pied wagtail and great views of 2 lammagier that cruised by and down the valley, The trek was great and extremely scenic only having a difficult 1.5hrs after lunch and then the last strech through moonscape landscape where we saw a small rodent called a pica very close, it has been another fantastic day, Every day has got better and better, We are close to 5000m and we all are doing great, A very very tough day tomorrow as we leave early to get to Gorek Shep which used to be the old base camp, Drop our gear and climb to the peak of Kala Pathar which is going to be our highest point at 5545m

Zsuzsa from Hungary (probably spelt wrong so please correct me)

The trail was very busy in places

 Some of the gang

 Diarmuid and Ciaran (The Irish crazies)

 Ciaran with Top guide Pasang

 Diarmuid with the lovely Chomba

 Yaks and Mountains are a top photographic combo

 Yours truly

 Shooting me shooting you

 Monuments to the lost mountaineers and Sherpa's

 The landscape changes as we walked along where a glacier used to be

Dave

Day 7-Dingbouche Acclimatization Day

Finally a pace with decent internet, I knew it could be hit or miss like the showers but once you get above a certain height its either really slow or non existent, Doesn't stop them selling you the cards needed to get on line only to be told after that the internet is not working
The days are getting better, I had my best nights sleep, i checked the weather out of my window early and there was the usual low cloud, I decided to get up early and hope that at some point the clouds would part even if just for a brief moment and so it was to be and then mountains started to pop out all around us, It was truly spectacular and cameras clicked all around me as people realized what was happening, The day was an acclimatization day so after breakfast we headed up and up and up and up, The place where we are staying is at 4250m and we ended the dy at 4875m, The highest i have ever been in my life, It was a very steep climb but very slow, The fog came and we got brief views of the mountains before heading down, I love it, The guide is great and makes sure everybody is doing fine and more importantly enjoying themselves.In the aftermoon we found  nice coffee shop for cappuchino and coconut macaroons, wonderful, A tough and long day tomorrow as we head towards 5000m

What a way to wake up in the morning

 I could see this from my bedroom window

 I have named this 'miserable bastard with Mountain'

 Trying something different with Diarmuid with Lily looking thoughtful in the background

 Mountains in the mist with prayer flags and monuments

 For some reason i keep coming back to this one, Will see what its like printed in black and white

 Top guide and all round great guy Pasang

 Taking a break before heading down, Jackie and Ciaran

 Dingbouche at the bottom where we started the hike

Dave

Day 6 Tangbouche to Dingbouche

Well the good news is that the cold bug that has been plaguing people here has gone, Our groupis all well and healthy and ready to head on up, Today has been incredible in many ways, We passed the 4000m and all feel good, The weather started aweful with heavy rain through the night only stopping a few minutes before we left, the fog and low cloud had blighted our views but its been dry and nice trekking weather, The food has continued to be good but have been told that it will go down hill slightly as we get higher, Bird wise i had a reasonable view of alpine chough and lammagier, Highlight of the day and probably of the trip was going off from the group with my guide up to  a small village in the hills, He took me and my 2 irish buddies to see not just a buddist monk but a genuine Lama, We had tea with him and he gave us his card with his personal chant for peace, He asked me to write my fathers name on another card, After looking at it he chaanted and wrote something in nepalese on it, Tied some gold string around it and told ne to leave it at base camp, He then blessed my prayer flags and gace them to me, I had to bend down and he hit me on the head with a hard cloth covered block and gave me aa blessing, Incredible and totally unexpected, I cannot thank my guide enough, The trip has become a kind of personal pilgrimage, We are here 2 nights, Everything has elevated in cost because of the remoteness,

Not what you expect to see in the Himalayas, The terrain changes quickly

 Following th river before heading up, The dogs are very friendly

 Group shots

 Finally some blue sky

 Freshly painted, On the way down from seeing the Lama

 The white Tara

 My new favorite photographic subject, The Yak

 The Hungarian girls heading to a distant village

 The hillside have Autumn colors

Thngs are changing fast and soon the vegetation will be gone

Dave

Day 5 Namche bazaar to Tangbouche

At night we had a huge storm, It rained heavily for hors and i hoped it would stop as the thought of walking in torrential rain was not appealing, I got out of bed at 5am and packed, The rain had stopped but there was still fog, At breakfast i noticed a break inthe clouds and rushed out to finally get some mountain scenery, It did not last long as the fog and cloud came back, The trek to Tenbouche started easy enough until lunchtime when we had a tough 2 hour hike straight up to the village, I am still feeling great unlike one of the girlss who has a heavy cold, I have no idea how she made it but she did, We went to see the Buddist monks praying at the temple, Pasang my guide called me to go to the alter and light some candles and say a prayer for my Father, I was taken by surprise and was quite emotional when i got outside, Tomorrow he is taking me slightly off trail to see a lama to bless my prayer flags that i will hang further up towards base camp, Its been a tough day and everybody is tired, But everybody did it and we have increased our pace, The fog or low cloud is still hanging around but there are still a few days for things to change, Highlight of the day was a pair of vultures circling a round and landing close enough to give everybody a good view. Low light was loosing my brand new Julbo sunglasses as they blew off my head on a swing bridge

Finally a decent view of the mountains

 Lots of waterfalls all along the trail

 Friendly dogs all along the trail

 Swing bridge where i lost my glasses

 Spinning water wheel with prayer wheel above

 Monastery at Tangbouche

 Our accomodation in the background

Off to Dingbouche tomorrow

Dave

Day 4, Acclimatization day 2

Not too much to report today, it was a rest day, Last night Ian Taylor of Ian Taylor Trekking come in after taking a tour on a successful summit of Island peak at 6189m, He had time to speak to each other and make sure we were all happy with the guides etc, So far the tour has exceeded expectations by far, We had breakfast and made our way uphill to the museum and spent some time learning about the Sherpa's and life in past times, A short film presentation finished the morning off and then we were free to do what we wanted, I went into town, did some shopping and grabbed a very welcome cappuccino,  Now we are rested and acclimatized we will hit the trail tomorrow and make our way close to 13000 feet, The landscape should change quickly from the greenery we currently have to the rugged rocky landscape that you expect to see in the Himalayas

Ian Taylor with 2ladies that also summited Island Peak and our own 2 Irish guys, A purely Irish affair

 Entering the national park

 A monument to Tenzing Norgay

 Inside an old homestead

Internet will now become very sketchy, I will blog when i can even if its only text and will add images when there is good bandwidth

Dave